This invention relates to a surgical staple, and more particularly to a surgical staple stabilized against rotation when emplaced transversely of the wound in a patient.
Surgical staples having an elongated straight central portion and a single pair of prongs depending from the opposite ends of the central portion, are well known in the art for closing wounds or incisions in the skin of a patient, as a rapid and effective substitute for suturing.
However, one important difficulty with the utilization of a conventional surgical staple having a single pair of terminal prongs is that the emplaced staple tends to rotate or tilt in a plane transverse to the length of the incision or wound. Accordingly, the lips or edges of the wound or incision are offset from each other, to increase the healing time and also to produce a relatively large scar. Moreover, the rotational attitude of the conventional surgical staple is more difficult to remove after the wound has healed than if the staple were not rotated.
Furthermore, where a conventional surgical staple is utilized to secure the edges of an incision or wound, there is the tendency of the wound edges to shift relative to each other causing pain to the patient, and producing some bleeding from the wound or incision.
One example of a modified surgical staple incorporating a pair of opposed prongs is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,492, of Rothfuss, issued Mar. 29, 1977.
The following U.S. patents disclose various types of clips, clamps and other devices for closing the opposed edges of cuts in the skin:
______________________________________ 2,421,193 Gardner May 27, 1947 2,472,009 Gardner May 31, 1949 2,669,747 Detaranto Feb. 23, 1954 2,910,067 White Oct. 27, 1959 3,068,869 Shelden et al Dec. 18, 1962 3,068,870 Levin Dec. 18, 1962 3,378,010 Codling, et al Apr. 16, 1968 ______________________________________
Of the above patents, only the patents to Shelden et al, Levin and Codling et al, disclose wound or incision closing device having a pair of prongs on each side of the wound or incision, in which the prongs are spaced in a direction perpendicular to the length of the wound or incision. None of these devices disclose a surgical staple adapted to be utilized in a cartridge within a surgical staple applicator, nor do they address the unique problem of the rotation of surgical staples transversely of the wound or incision. U.S. Pat. No. 3,124,810 issued to Mathison on Nov. 2, 1965, entitled "FASTENER DEVICES" discloses a two-part fastener device for fabrics, such as diapers, including a flexible U-shaped fastener body having a plurality of opposed conical projections disposed angularly upward from the arms of the fastener body in closed position, and a closure cap member for compressing the arms together to join two pieces of fabric. When the closure cap member is removed from the arms or jaws of the U-shaped fastener body, the arms spring apart to release the fabric.
Moreover, none of the above patents disclose a surgical staple having two sets of prongs disposed at acute angles to each other for insertion into the patient's skin on opposite sides of the wound or incision, with one of the prongs being directed outwardly toward the edges of the wound.